All central government employees have been asked to start attending office on working days, according to a Personnel Ministry order.

The decision has been taken as there has been a sharp decline in the number of active Covid-19 cases in the country. In Delhi, the active case tally on Saturday dropped to 1,041 from 1,053 the previous day.

However, all officers and staff residing in containment zones will be exempted from coming to office till their containment zone is de-notified, the statement said.

Until now, only officers of the level of Under Secretary and above were attending office due to the coronavirus-induced restrictions imposed in March.

The officers/staff shall follow staggered timings to avoid over-crowding in offices/workplaces as decided by the heads of department, the government order said.

"The government servants at all levels are to attend office on all working days without any exemption to any category of employees," said the order issued late Saturday to all the central government departments.

Biometric attendance shall continue to be suspended until further orders, it said.

The officers and staff who are residing in the containment zone shall work from home and shall be available on telephone and electronic means of communications at all times, it said.

Meetings, as far as possible, may continue to be conducted with video-conferencing and personal meetings with visitors, unless absolutely necessary in public interest, are to be avoided, the order said.

The Personnel Ministry, in another order, said that "all departmental canteens may be opened".

According to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday, the COVID-19 active caseload remains below 1.5 lakh.